Trump pushes SAVE Act at SOTU amid debate over amending filibuster

Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the president's remarks on the SAVE Act and its future in the Senate.

The most important thing to know about this week’s primary results in Texas is that nearly 60% of Republican voters told sitting Sen. John Cornyn that they do not want him returning to Washington, and it will take more than an endorsement from President Donald Trump to change that.

On Thursday, Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, made an interesting offer to avoid an ugly and costly runoff election in May. Put simply, if the Senate approves the Save America Act, requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, then Paxton will drop out.

It is an elegant solution that had been suggested by some commentators, including myself, once it became clear that neither Cornyn nor Paxton had cleared the 50% hurdle to avoid a runoff, and it would save Trump from having to swoop in and make an endorsement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his bitter rival, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are heading to a runoff in Texas, further extending their bloody primary battle until late May.  (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The president said Friday that he would make a decision on whom to endorse "fairly shortly," but added that he wants "the full and complete Save America Act" passed, the first time he explicitly connected the two.

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The offer to Senate GOP leadership, desperate to hang on to their old buddy, seems to be, "You pass the Save America Act, and I’ll save John Cornyn." And even Paxton is on board.

This solution is a perfect one, specifically because the Save America Act is a microcosm of everything that frustrated GOP voters hate about the Republican establishment that runs the Senate. It polls at 70-80% approval, and yet it can’t get passed.

Why did 60% of Republicans send this stinging message to Cornyn and the GOP on Tuesday? Because, for all their big talk, men like Majority Leader John Thune and his inner circle of exceedingly careful lawmakers can’t get anything done, even when it's something as popular as Santa Claus.

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Tellingly, over the weekend leading up to Tuesday’s election in the Lone Star State, the most prominent ads on TV were not for any particular candidate but rather a pro-Save America Act spot that broke down exactly how senators, like Cornyn, could vote to protect U.S. elections.

I heard about the issue directly from voters, including one man from El Paso who told me, "If they can’t pass things that 80% of us want, then what is the point of all this?"

Ken Paxton offers to drop Texas Senate bid if Save America Act passes